Safe surgery checklists - reminders to all doctors and nurses in the operating room before and during a surgical procedure - are intended to reduce and prevent mistakes during surgery, including serious surgical and anesthesia complications and death.

There are three critical time periods that have been identified around the time of surgery:

Right before anesthesia is administered

Right before the incision

During the incision closure

Safe Surgery Checklists can include several safety steps that are easy for doctors and nurses to implement, such as:

Confirming the patient's identity

Marking the surgical site

Checking anesthesia machines and medications

Confirming the surgical procedure and incision site

Counting all of the surgical instruments and sponges

These are just the basics for safe surgery. Many health care organizations have published their own recommended safe surgery checklists.

To get answers to your questions about surgical and medical mistakes in a hospital in D.C., Maryland or Virginia, call us at (202) 393 - 3320 for more information on holding healthcare providers accountable for harms they cause to patients when they don't follow established safety rules.

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